(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to packaging and particularly to the automatic formation of cartons around materials and articles including those which may be relatively fragile. More specifically, the present invention is directed to apparatus for producing packages and especially to apparatus wherein a packing material blank is folded completely or partially around the article or material to be packaged. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of such character.
(2) Brief Description of the Prior Art
Techniques and machinery for producing what is known in the trade as "multipacks" are well-known. Prior "multipack" producing techniques operate in accordance with either one of two methods, i.e., the vertical method or the horizontal method. In the vertical method, which is also referred to as the "lowering method", the item to be packaged is deposited on a flat package blank. Thereafter, the item and the blank are drawn or pushed vertically through a forming station. During the vertical movement the side and top faces of the blank are deflected upwardly, the closure flaps of the side faces of the blank are folded inwardly and, finally, the closure flaps of the bottom face are folded. The folding of the top face and top face closure flaps, to complete the package, occur in subsequent operations. Rapid-bonding fusion adhesives are used to seal the thus produced "multipack".
In the previously employed horizontal method of forming "multipacks", also referred to as the "push-through" method, the articles to be packaged are positioned against a vertically supported or right-angle prefolded package blank. Thereafter, the article or articles and package blank are pushed through forming and pressing members. During this pushing operation the closure flaps of the rear side face and the bottom and top faces, or alternatively only the top face, are folded inwardly. Subsequently, the front side face and the remaining closure flaps are folded. Finally, the packages are completed by sealing through the use of rapid-bonding fusion adhesives.
Neither of the above briefly described "multipack" forming methods has proven to be entirely satisfactory. The principal deficiency of the vertical and horizontal "multipack" forming methods is that significant force must be exerted on the articles to be packaged in order to simultaneously transport the articles and the package blank through the forming and folding stations of the packaging machine. Accordingly, articles or materials which are sensitive to pressure cannot be packaged in a "wrap-around" machine which operates in accordance with the prior art vertical and horizontal packaging methods. Since the prior art "multipack" forming procedures require that the articles being packaged have a high inherent strength, in order to avoid deformation and breakage, such procedures have had limited utility.
It is also to be observed that the packaging material required for prior machines which employ the vertical and horizontal "multipack" forming method must be of high quality. Even with the use of such high quality packing material it is impossible to exclude the possibility of damage to the material as it passes through the forming and folding stations. Thus, the prior art techniques and apparatus, as briefly described above, preclude the use of less expensive packaging materials and particularly recycled materials.